Falilat Ogunkoya-Osheku (born 5 December 1968 in Ode Lemo,

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

) is a Nigerian former

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who holds the distinction of becoming the first Nigerian to win an individual

medal at the

Olympic games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

.I Pray My Second Marriage Succeeds
/ref> Ogunkoya has won a number of national championships, including a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

in 1996 in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

, gold in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

and 400 m in 1998, and gold again in 1999 and 2001 in the 400 m. At the 1987 All Africa Games in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

she won the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the 200 m. In 1995 at the All Africa Games in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

she won the silver in the 400 m, and at the 1999 Games in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

she won a gold medal in the 400 m. At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Ogunkoya won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the 400 m, behind

Marie-José Pérec Marie-José Pérec (born 9 May 1968) is a retired French track and field sprinter who specialised in the 200 and 400 metres and is a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Athletics career Pérec won the 1991 World Championships 400 metres title ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Cathy Freeman Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman (born 16 February 1973) is an Aboriginal Australian former sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. Her personal best of 48.63 seconds currently ranks her as the ninth-fastest woman of all time, set ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, in a personal best and African record of 49.10, which is currently the twelfth fastest of all time. It marked the first time a Nigerian athlete won a medal in an individual track and field event.

Achievements

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogunkoya, Falilat 1968 births Living people Sportspeople from Ogun State Nigerian female sprinters Yoruba sportswomen Mississippi State University alumni Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Nigeria Olympic silver medalists for Nigeria Olympic bronze medalists for Nigeria Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships athletes for Nigeria African Games gold medalists for Nigeria African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics African Games silver medalists for Nigeria Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 All-Africa Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1995 All-Africa Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 All-Africa Games World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists Competitors at the 1998 Goodwill Games Olympic female sprinters World Athletics U20 Championships winners Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade bronze medalists for Nigeria 20th-century Nigerian women